Saturday, October 30, 2004

"It's not the people who vote that count.
It's the people who count the votes."

- Joseph Stalin

Thanks to everyone who participated in the polls. In a closer race than I expected, Kerry edges out Bush. Here's the raw data.

Total Votes (182)Kerry 86
Bush 66
Nader 13
Badarnik 3
NOT VOTING 18

With voting held on three of my blogs, there were over 182 American voters. I had to throw out the responses from folks who insisted they were not going to vote. On the Tao of Pauly, Kerry beat Bush 23 to 11, or by a 2 to 1 margin. However on the Tao of Poker, Bush only lost to Kerry by a smaller margin; 86 to 66. Those numbers sounded more accurate. With a bigger sample to poll from, the Tao of Poker appeals to a larger demographic... with more voters scattered throughout the country, but with a significant number of more readers from the South and Midwest. Whereas the Tao of Pauly's readers are an eclectic bunch of open minded people from all walks of life centralized in the East Coast, California, and college towns (excluding Canada and Europe). The gender breakdown is more even on the Tao of Pauly with slightly more females readers than guys. I don't have the exact numbers but due to the heavy content of gambling and poker on the Tao of Poker, I'm sure that only small percentage of readership are women. The numbers from my polls pretty much matched up with national averages. Men are more likely to vote for Bush along with people in a higher income bracket. Married voters with kids tend to vote more conservative than single voters in their 20s.

Scary Trends

I was disturbed by the number of people who admitted they were not voting or voting for third party candidates... almost 18% of the total votes cast. An alarming number of these people live on the West Coast and in New York. And then throw in all those folks who read the sites and the poll... but chose not even to participate. Are those the same folks who fall into the 50% of Americans who do not vote?

In the extremely important swing states, Kerry took Pennsylvania and won Florida by one vote. They tied Ohio and Wisconsin. Bush took Michigan and Missouri, while he posted big numbers in the South. Florida and Ohio are the two biggest states in my eyes. Whoever wins those electoral votes will be President. And I'm not the only one who think so. More money is being spent on television ads in those two states than all the other states combined.

Although California and New York were won by Kerry easily, it was also the two states where Nader got his most support. In addition, that was where the highest number of people suggested they were not going to vote at all. Do New Yorkers have a higher bullshit detector than most folks and don't trust either guy?

Overseas

My blogs are read all over the world and I got some valuable feedback. A friend from England was the sole Bush supporter... which falls in line with Great Britain as one of our few solid allies behind the Bush Junta. My Canadian and Northern European readers expressed a sincere interest in Kerry. A response from a friend in Japan really made me think. Here's what a 20-something Japanese woman had to say:

If I am an American, I will vote for Kerry because I hate Bush. But I also don't believe Kerry. I like America and I like American people but they (politicians) make your country bad. I think it is very important decision. I cannot decide it because I'm Japanese. The future is in your hands. So I just hope the world will be good.

A simple message from the other side of the world told me that there are a lot of people paying attention to next Tuesday and understand the significance of everyone's vote or non-vote. And it's sad that more non-Americans have a better grasp on American politics than the guy sitting next to you on the subway or the dude behind the bar of your favorite drinking establishment.

I don't care who you vote for... just go out and do it.

Poll II

The second poll (Who would you rather invite to your home poker game? Bush or Kerry?) was my favorite. I only held voting on the Tao of Poker. Make sure you read the comments thread. There are some hilarious answers from my fellow poker bloggers.

The results are a shocker. Bush won by a landslide. Everyone would rather have Dubya sitting in your kitchen drinking beers, playing cards, and telling knock knock jokes. I guess that's part of the reason why some many undecided voters end up voting for Bush. he has a likeable quality, that despite his politics, you can sit down and have a conversatin with the guy. He's flawed and that makes him more real... more like one of the guys... than Kerry, who often appears stiff and overtalks like a two-bit preacher with that cheesy used car salesman's smile.

My readers have spoke. Send Kerry to the White House and let Bush play in your home games.

Who do I think is going to win? I'm calling for another overtime! Just like 2000 and Bush will lose the popular vote, but still win narrow victories in big states like Florida and Ohio to put him over the top. I put my money on Bush the second I woke up on 9.12.01 and I'm still waiting to cash that ticket.

Who am I voting for? Not Kerry. If you asked him to flip a coin and pick heads or tails, you know he'd say both, then take your quarter. There's no way I'd vote for Bush. I'm going with Nader, a safe vote in pro-Kerry NY, unless that Marijuana Reform Party candidate sways my vote with a last minute session.